Hypothermia
by KNO
Summary: One-shot. TenTen gets hypothermia during a mission. And Neji, being the one who actually listened to when Iruka-sensei was informing of this condition, has to get TenTen back to health. Neji/TenTen pairing. Rated T for some slight gore.


_I had to research like, everything to write this Fic. And I HATE researching. I'd rather just know it all and not have to be bothered. But seeing as I'm quite gullible, and suck at math, I don't see this dream of mine happening anytime soon._

_Some unnecessary background: When I started writing this yesterday, I imagined Neji and TenTen to be around fourteen or fifteen, as they're seen in the shown anime/manga. However, when I finished it, I was leaning towards more of the Shippuuden age. So, view Neji and TenTen about sixteen to seventeen in this Fic; some more Neji/TenTen love for you; some imaginable gore in this also, a new thing for me. I guess I'm breaking in my blood-and-guts imagination._

_And, I caution all of you to beware the effects of hypothermia, which mostly can be read below. I obtained all of my information about hypothermia from_ Wikipedia _dot_ org_. They are immensely useful and wonderful._

_Also, seeing as I have an Anatomy test tomorrow (labeling parts of the body and whatnot), several terms are littered throughout this Fic._

**Disclaimer:** My conscious mind reminds me that I don't own this. My subconscious is continuously plotting to prove my conscious wrong.

* * *

_Hypothermia._

Apparently we were pursuing our targets. And apparently we were losing.

_This would have been so much easier if we hadn't gotten separated from Lee and Guy-sensei_, I thought.

We had been sent to the Land of Snow by the Fifth Hokage, to protect a worthy politician (and asset to the Land of Fire) from attempts on his life. And now we were pursuing his attackers. Across snow and ice and water. Did I mention that it sucked?

"TenTen, take the right; he's the smallest of the two," called Neji, already separating to take down his own.

I rolled my eyes at the Hyuga. I didn't need the 'smallest'. _Jerk_, I thought absently, running full on into cold water.

_Darn._

The water slowed me down. I tried to wade through it as quickly as I could. I was chest deep in it, and growing frustrated with the slowness of my moving, I ducked under the water and swam to the bank. As soon as I had emerged, I crawled to my feet, reminding myself that I'd have to properly clean my weapons later. _Stupid ice water. Stupid snow. Stupid mission._ In short, I was annoyed. _Very_ annoyed. _Just think, when all of this is done, you can go back to that warm cabin and sleep._ I smirked, pleased, as I came upon my target.

Neji had been right, the kid was small, probably around my age or a little older. _What a pity, to be so young, and doing such cruel acts._ Still, however young he was, I didn't hold back.

* * *

After our little fight, I looked at his body unfortunately.(1) I had sent the final blow, a windmill shuriken, several minutes ago, nearly cleaving the kid in half. I felt kind of bad, but there really was no way around it. Neji would have murdered me if I had let him get away. Literally. I picked up the big shuriken with some slight difficulty; my hands were shaking. I raised an eyebrow. Had killing yet another person taken a physical effect instead of mentally this time? I half-shrugged; I could figure out the complexities of the Universe later, once I had slept a little. I stowed the shuriken back into its catalogue, and started to move towards where Neji and I had split; it felt like the logical place we would meet up.

When I found the site again (after I had trudged _back_ through the icy water), Neji was waiting for me, leaning against a sparse and far between tree. He looked me over.

"Where's your cloak?" he asked flatly.

I shrugged, sitting down in the wet snow.

"It must've come off when we were chasing them. Did you kill the other one?"

Neji gave a short nod.

"We should go," he said, waiting for me to get to my feet.

"Good. I'm sick of all of this cold and wet environment! I _need_ a fire."

Neji smirked as we started walking.

* * *

We continued on, trudging against the heavy snow. Apparently all our walking uphill had really done me over: my breathing was quick, shallow. My hands had really started to shake also, and I looked down at them, a little concerned. Neji caught me examining them and stopped, trying to decipher my anxiety. Being the genius he was, it didn't take Neji long. He walked over, eyes on my face.

"Let me see your hands," he ordered.

I looked up at him.

"What?" I asked, confused.

Neji gestured to my hands.

I showed him, hesitantly.

Neji took my hands, cupping them in his pale and warm ones. He inspected them thoroughly before releasing me, giving me a stern look.

"I guess you're just cold. But it'd be better if we got to the cabin so I can look at them more closely."

I nodded dutifully and we started off again.

* * *

When I crumpled to the ground without warning ten feet from our cabin, Neji took whatever it was wrong with me more seriously. He didn't try to make me walk; he picked me up and carried me instead. It felt like my hands would never stop shaking, but now, added to my shaking, was a full body shiver. I couldn't stop. It was so strange. . . .

Neji opened the door and immediately set me down on the low lying couch, dragging it to right in front of the fireplace. He went out of my line of vision for a while (I didn't feel comfortable moving), and I assumed that he was getting firewood.(2) The door slammed somewhere behind me, and Neji hurriedly threw the wood into the fireplace, already starting the lighter, flicking it until flame appeared. He applied the flame to the wood, waiting until the wood caught the flame and started burning. Neji placed the lighter on top of the mantle, walking hurriedly toward a closet I hadn't noticed before. Neji opened the door to it, withdrawing some blankets from the top shelf. Neji walked over to me, kneeling in front of the couch, his face void of emotion, as per usual.

"TenTen, you've got to do me a favor. You've gotta touch your pinky to your thumb for me, okay?"

I nodded as best I could with my body shivering. Neji's Byakugan eyes shifted to my two fingers as I attempted to bring them together.

I tried. I really did, but it was like they were big magnetic opposites, I couldn't bring them within inches of each other at all. Neji breathed out, impatient, but he had seen as well as I had. He started to wrap me in the blankets he had gathered. He wrapped me thoroughly, with no room for me to move, my arms strapped upward against my chest, my hands lying on my collarbone. Neji turned from me to attend to the fire.

"What—what does it . . . m—mean? If . . . you can't touch your . . . f—fingers?" I asked, my slightly chattering teeth affecting my speech.

Neji didn't face me to answer my question. In fact, he didn't answer me at all, and I wondered if he'd heard me.

"Hey," I said a few seconds later.

Neji turned slightly, so I could see a quarter of his face.

"I feel . . . better. I . . . feel warmer."(3)

Neji shook his head slightly.

"You're not getting warmer, TenTen. Your teeth are still chattering, and your skin is turning slightly blue. You're not getting better. It's another stage. You're getting _worse_."

"But—?" I started to protest, but Neji cut me off.

"You have hypothermia!" he shouted, his voice raised, angry. "You're entering stage two!"

I stared at him, shocked.

"When you can't touch your thumb to your little finger, it means your muscles are starting to work," he replied several minutes later, quietly, finally answering my question.

I just stared, for there was nothing else I _could_ do.

* * *

I had learned about hypothermia before, years ago in the Academy. Iruka-sensei had explained the three stages thoroughly, but I hadn't payed as much attention as I should have. It was good that Neji had.

"I'm . . . on second . . . stage?" I asked him.

Neji nodded curtly as he pulled the couch closer to the fireplace, I supposed in hopes that I would at least feel some of the warmth.

He studied me fully over the next few minutes, monitoring my progression in stage two carefully. When I started to shiver more violently, Neji finally made his decision.

"I'm going to try and get you warmer, okay? I'm going to lie next to you; maybe the contact will get your body warmer."

I nodded my assent carefully; not really comprehending what he had just said.

Neji moved and lied down beside me, watching my expression cautiously. Since I was facing the inside of the couch, and Neji clambered to lie down, his back into the couch, we were facing each other. It was awkward, in a word.

"What happens in . . . third . . . stage?" I whispered through cracked and slightly blue lips.

Neji watched me carefully before he answered.

"Usually, the shivering stops, and you experience varieties of amnesia. You can't use your hands. Your skin becomes blue . . . and puffy, like it's been irritated. You display incoherent actions. Sometimes your heartbeat accelerates. Your organs fail, and eventually you die."

I was quiet for a long time, and Neji looked slightly concerned.

"Am . . . I going . . . to . . . die . . . , Neji?" I eventually queried, my body shaking.

"I won't let it get to that point," Neji replied shortly, looking over my head, into the fire.

* * *

I think I drifted in and out of sleep. I wasn't really sure; I could have experienced some of that amnesia that Neji told me about. But when I came aware of where I was again, I had more blankets on than before, so I figured that Neji had at some point added them to me. I now felt (and probably looked) like a giant, furry bear. I tried to swivel my head, but found it next to impossible. I used my eyes instead. Neji was sleeping, his forehead touching mine as the back of his head rested on the armrest of the couch. He exhaled out evenly, and I felt his sweet breath hit me in the face. I closed my eyes . . . and noticed how I felt warm. _Very_ warm. I was darn sure it wasn't hypothermia, too.

"Neji," I whispered urgently, needing to feel some cool air.

Neji awoke almost instantly, his trademark Hyuga eyes opening slightly as he bid sleep goodbye. After a few seconds I knew he was awake, as he opened his eyes fully, looking alert.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly, seeing as we were in such proximity of each other.

"Yeah. I'm actually really, really hot right now. Do you think you could—?"

Neji was already moving, his long hair tickling my cheek slightly as he got up. He slowly began to unwrap me from my blanket cocoon. Thankfully, as soon as I was free of the entrapping madness, I rose steadily to my feet, intending to go outside. Before I could even reach the door, however, Neji caught my wrist, deciphering what I had planned to do.

"Oh, no, you don't. You're still recovering."

I glared at him, but obliged, letting him lead me back to the couch. Neji sat beside me, releasing his grip from my wrist.

We sat there in silence for a while before I finally did something that I'll never forget. . . or regret.

I leaned over (which wasn't very far, since Neji was sitting quite close) and kissed Neji on the cheek.(4)

"Thank you for taking care of me, Neji. I owe you big time," I told him.

Neji, who I assumed was slightly stunned, looked over and stared at me. And stared. And stared.

* * *

"Well, I guess the team's all together, Guy-sensei!" exclaimed Lee as they came through the door.

"Alright, Lee. Where're Neji and TenTen? We need to see if they took care of the assassins."

"Uh . . . Guy-sensei?" asked Lee, his voice hesitant.

Guy turned away as he shut the door, locating Lee.

"What is it, Lee?"

Lee didn't answer, just pointed.

On the couch were TenTen and Neji, wrapped up in separate blankets, sleeping. The only thing Lee saw concerning of this picture was that TenTen was lying curled on top of Neji, her head cradled on his chest.(5) Neji's head was higher up than TenTen's, resting on the armrest. His hand was comforting the small of her back.

Lee looked up at his sensei, who was gaping also at the picture in front of them.

"Guy-sensei, what should we do?"

Guy thought hard, eventually his face coming alight with an idea.

"Lee, let's just leave them here, and pretend like we didn't see this."

"Okay, sensei, but how will they believe us if we've been here?"

"Good point, Lee," said Guy, thinking a little harder, before recalling something he'd seen earlier. "I saw a coffeehouse in town. I bet they have hot chocolate."

"Hot chocolate!" exclaimed Lee in a loud whisper, punching the air with his fist as he and Guy-sensei walked out the door.(6)

* * *

(1) Unfortunately as in piteously.

(2) Neji's not an idiot. He got the wood from a wood box. If you've never really stayed in an owned cabin where it's cold or whatever, they usually have those so you don't have to go out and chop it up yourself.

(3) Usually, people experience a warm sensation, like they've recuperated, but they're actually heading into stage two of hypothermia. Just FYI.

(4) The anatomic term for cheek is "bucca". :D

(5) The anatomic term for chest is "thoracic or thorax". Hehe.

(6) Hot Chocolate! Mmm. . . Sounds good, huh? I can't wait til winter.

_I'm very pleased with this. I really feel like it's some of my best._

_But you be the judge._

_Leave a review. :)_


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